M&M’s Maker Mars Chocolate Sued for Gay Discrimination

A New Jersey woman is suing M&M producer Mars Chocolate North America, claiming she was terminated after supervisors found out she was a lesbian.

Theresa Kwiecinski, 46, is suing the chocolate maker for wrongful termination, according to the suit filed in Superior Court in the town of Belvidere and quoted by The Express-Times.

The woman, who served as commercial manager for external manufacturing, said colleagues began treating her differently after she introduced them to her partner and daughter at a 2011 work conference in Florida.

After the conference, Kwiecinski said she was handed an "unreasonable" workload; when she complained about it she was told "'well that's the business now, we all have to work bigger jobs,'" according to the lawsuit.

Her sexuality, coupled with performance issues due to a pregnancy the previous year, culminated in her dismissal, the lawsuit states.

"The complaint speaks for itself," attorney William Koy Jr. told The Express-Times. "My client is very disturbed for how she was treated at Mars, and we look forward to her day in court."